canderson

Much appreciated.

Anyone know what make/model available in upper Dawn suites? Would like to bring along a refillable pod for my own favorite blend, but need the right pod.

It did achieve 'cult' pricing, but certainly not like Cardinale! Time to open up that 97!

Silver Oak (Alexander) was my go-to cab for many years, but the character changed when Duncan took over in 2001. To my mind, 1997 was the last of the best.

Stupid spelchek. "analogies", above, should read "analogue".

When we stay in Barcelona, we stay up at the north end of La Rambla. It would appear that the Avenida da Liberdade may be the Lisbon analogies? Anyway, to the OP, if you want to do anything that deviates from the standard SS arrangement, you'll need to manage it privately, but making the property fully aware that you'll be there as part of a SS package.

Based upon the explanations given by a Hotel Manager for non-enforcement of the dress code, why would anyone expect a confrontation over deck chairs?

Good to hear. Web site photos always look great, but one never knows how much the camera may have 'improved' the ambiance 😏 We will be there for the Dawn TA in November. Wanted to stay some extra days ahead, and evidently SS can't deal with more than three nights. So we worked with the hotel for the additional 2 nights in a better than 'standard' room, and they won't be asking us to move for the last 3 booked via SS. Worked out superbly.

Was that at the Tivoli?

Will be with SS for 1st time this Fall on Dawn. Am I understanding correctly that if one wants a serious, fresh dark roast French or Italian, the Arts Cafe is the spot? Looking for the equivalent of Celebrity's Cafe Al Bacio.

@markham You described "upper classes" in terms of membership tier. I'm wondering if the query by @JSR wasn't instead directed at cabin class.

See post just above yours.

First, there are events where some people DO see formal dress on land, and still a few restaurants where a jacket and tie (minimum) are still the norm. Second, try NOT to think of a formal night venue limitation as a class system, but instead as an invitation to a special event to be held in a particular set of venues -- since that is really what this is. It would be equally peculiar were you to show up in JUST your everyday best if invited to a good old fashioned 'fancy dress' party (British version). By accepting the invitation, it's assumed you'll dress accordingly, else it rather misses the point of the event as planned by the host. Elvis impersonators welcome. Savile Row, not so much.

Would be an interesting, if separate, conversation: In a restaurant setting such as [fill in your favorite 'fine dining cruise ship venue], what part of the visual and auditory ambience matters to you? Am talking to the level of cloth vs. paper napkins, music, TV or not TV (NFL or ??!!) etc.

Some don't seem to think attire is part of the "ambiance", it would seem. If La Dame followed the interior design of a McDonalds, I'm sure that the visuals would finally start getting the attention of those same people. The difference is in the level of awareness (and appreciation for) the area outside of a personal 'bubble'. It varies...

Blame it on COVID, during which time theater and charity events were verboten. Locked down, those men - with the rare exception of those who still 'dress for dinner' at home - had no reason to don a suit, much less a tux, for a couple of years. Besides getting out of the habit, they suffered from a more sedentary lifestyle with the result that in the end, their tailors threw their hands up in exasperation, crying "But sir, there just isn't enough fabric here to make a 44 into a 48!" 😏

That's overstating the case a bit. If SS wanted the "widest customer base", they'd need to do a lot more to attract families with young children as have other lines. Of course, they'd lose part of their existing customer base as a result. They have their niche, and they're not having any problems filling ships as far as I can tell from future bookings. There's no need for every line to go after the entire breadth of the market and attempt to be everything to everybody. There's a fairly obvious reason RCG didn't build a floating amusement park (ref Icon of the Seas) as a Silversea branded ship. There's still plenty of room for different lines to provide different styles of cruising. You can bet RCG didn't buy SS with a plan to make it into another RCL experience for the SS demographic.

I guess the important question is, then, do you see them trying with any level of consistency? Is the attempt really being made? I would imagine that, as was the case on our 'old' line, TransAtlantic SS cruisers will be of the more traditional type where one would more often find the hard core frequent flyers. Guess we'll find out.

Can't speak from direct experience inbound at Copenhagen, but it would be most unusual for any non-passenger to be allowed entry 'backwards' into the baggage pickup area from the 'outside' to pick up bags. I'd definitely plan on handing them over to Luggage Forward personally. Will be interesting to hear what others say.

Apart from fooling a streaming service into thinking you're home, using a public WiFi system for doing anything important, like banking on a long cruise, is a security problem without that additional layer of security.

You don't have to connect with Nord first to tweak the settings, unless that's an "i"thing. I use a VPN for more than cruises, so may consider switching out.

I hope you meant "...isn't a selling point if they want my business." There's yet another part of the cruising public for whom it is a selling point. Meanwhile, we can recommend Regent, another good line with a somewhat more lax set of evening dress requirements.

I should note, on my PC (since I don't know what device you're using), it's obviously different. There, the gear is in the bottom left corner. Select the Auto-Connect tab Select VPN protocol The protocol selections appear to be the same as for phone.

That what will happen if the ship blocks the protocol in use. On my phone (Android) Open app Click on Profile (lower right) Click on 'gear' (upper right) Click on Protocol I suspect that "Recommended" - NordLynx, but I plan to fiddle with all of them on Dawn someday to see. Thanks for the real-time updates, too. Always better than historical info!

Would be curious to know, if asked politely, why the Hotel Manager is operating in this mode for this cruise.